We Want to See Russian Crimes Against Civilians Condemned: Head of the UGCC in the 99th week of war
Even during hostilities, international humanitarian law must remain in effect. We call for condemnation of Russian crimes against civilians. His Beatitude Sviatoslav, the Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, said this on the 99th week of the great war that the Russian occupier brought to peaceful Ukrainian land.
A wounded man in the aftermath of Russia’s rocket attack on Kharkiv on January 2, 2024, photo: Oleh Syniehubov.
The Primate noted that the war is a tremendous tragedy, a bleeding wound on the body of our people, which exhausts us, seizing from us all that we call the aspirations and vitality of every nation.
“At the outset of this year,” said His Beatitude Sviatoslav, “the enemy intensified its air attacks on Ukraine. On the first day of the new year, January 1, Kyiv fell into mourning. We commemorated 32 people who were killed by Russians in our capital the day before. And on January 2, the enemy again launched an unprecedented massive air attack, including against Kyiv.”
As we mourn our fallen, the Primate noted with regret, while we heal our wounds, we urge the whole world to hear the voice of an unbreakable country: Ukraine stands! Ukraine fights! Ukraine prays!
The spiritual leader noted that this week, Ukraine celebrated one of the most significant Christian holidays — the Epiphany: “We believe that through the Lord’s power, evil will perish in the waters of the Jordan, and God’s blessing, which we seek to bring to all homes of Ukrainians, even to military dugouts and trenches, to bomb shelters, will serve as the force for the revival of the Ukrainian people.”
The Head of the UGCC also recalled that in these days, we rejoiced that Ukraine managed to rescue more than 200 prisoners of war from the hands of the modern Pharaoh and return them home: “We express our gratitude to Pope Francis, Vatican diplomacy, and all international institutions that helped in this endeavor.”
There are thousands of Ukrainians, the Primate noted, who are being punished in the clutches of the Russian pharaoh. Let us not forget about them. Let’s do everything to return them to their Motherland.
The UGCC Department for Information
